HORTSCIENCE 51(11):1325–1328. 2016. doi: 10.21273/HORTSCI10526-16 Asian : A Potential Alternative Fruit Crop for Growers in the Mid-Atlantic Region Christopher S. Walsh1, Julia M. Harshman, Anna E. Wallis, and Amy Barton Williams Department of Science and Landscape Architecture, 2102 Plant Sciences Building, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 Michael J. Newell Wye Research and Education Center, Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station, 124 Wye Narrows Drive, Queenstown, MD 21658 George R. (G.R.) Welsh Western Maryland Research and Education Center, Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station, 18330 Keedysville Road, Keedysville, MD 21756 Additional index words. fire blight, ‘Magness’ pear, pear psylla, rootstocks, precocity, fruit quality Abstract. Production of european ( L.) in the eastern United States is limited by a number of physiological and pathological problems. In an attempt to expand sustainable pear production in that region, a series of long-term field trials of asian pear [ (Burm. F) Nak. (syn. Pyrus serotina L.)] were established at two sites in Maryland. To compare precocity, productivity, and survival, nine asian pear cultivars and three European cultivars were planted in a replicated trial in 2010 at the Wye Research and Education Center (Wye REC). The asian pears were precocious and productive and many trees flowered and fruited in the second leaf. After the fourth leaf, survival of ‘Isi’iwasi’, ‘Shinsui’, ‘Kosui’, and ‘Olympic’ was good, while many ‘Hosui’ and ‘Ya Li’ (asian pear) trees as well as ‘Bartlett’ and ‘Golden Russett’ (european pear) trees had died at that point, following bloom infections of fire blight (Erwinia amylovora). At Keedysville (WMREC), 18 asian pear cultivars in two established plantings were evaluated for their field tolerance to fire blight following a severe hailstorm. The cultivars Shin Li, Daisu Li, Shinsui, and Olympic fared as well as Magness, a fire blight–tolerant european pear cultivar that served as a benchmark in that evaluation. Conversely, ‘Hosui’, ‘Choju’, ‘Kosui’, ‘Seigyoku’, ‘Ya Li’, and ‘Ts’e Li’ were severely damaged. Three consumer tastings were conducted using fruit from the Wye REC trial. ‘Yoinashi’, ‘Atago’, ‘Shinko’, and ‘Olympic’ were well received by consumers. After tasting asian pears, most people, even those less familiar with the crop, reported they would consider purchasing the fruit and requested the names of local producers. Based on our long-term research results, there appears to be a good opportunity for locally produced asian pear fruit. With the correct cultivar selection for fire blight management, local growers should be able to produce this alternative crop sustainably and market their fruit profitably.

Production of european pears (P. commu- ‘Bartlett’ (syn. ‘Williams Bon Chretien’) for ‘Magness’ (Miller and Walsh, 1984). Not nis) in the eastern United States is limited by has been the primary pear cultivar grown in long after we began that initial study, we a number of pathological and physiological North America for more than a century. realized that asian pear might be a viable problems, particularly fire blight, a disease O’Rourke (2012) reported that 47% of alternative crop for local fruit growers, as caused by E. amylovora (Burr.) Winslow U.S. commercial production was accounted most cultivars were precocious and pro- et al. This bacterium appears to be indigenous for by a single cultivar, Bartlett, with an duced a marketable crop in their third leaf. to North American Rosaceous and was additional three cultivars, Beurre Anjou This was comparable to ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’ first reported in the 19th century. Although it (39.3%), Beurre Bosc (11.3%), and Doyenne apple trees on size-controlling rootstocks attacks a variety of fruit crops, european du Comice (1%) accounting for the majority (data not shown). pears are particularly susceptible to tree of the remaining production. Although ‘Bar- Reimer ranked species material for fire damage and death from the disease (Van der tlett’ is well liked for its buttery fruit texture, blight almost 100 years ago (Reimer, 1915). Zwet and Kiel, 1979). flavor, canning value, and tree productivity, it He listed as the most is susceptible to fire blight. Hedrick (1921) blight-resistant species, followed by Pyrus stated ‘‘the trees blight badly, and are not calleryana, Pyrus betualaefolia, P. pyrifolia, Received for publication 22 Dec. 2015. Accepted much above average in resistance to blight, the and P. communis, which was the least toler- for publication 21 July 2016. blackplagueofpear.’’ ant. Although some asian pear cultivars were This paper was part of the colloquium ‘‘Alternative To improve pear tree survival, breeding for tested in Maryland in the 1970s (Oitto et al., Specialty Crop: Opportunities and Challenges,’’ fire blight resistance has been a major goal of 1970; van der Zwet and Oitto, 1972), most of presented at the 2015 ASHS Conference, New many North American pear breeding programs. their work focused on older Chinese culti- Orleans, LA, on 4 Aug. 2015, and sponsored by Unfortunately, the sources of resistance used vars, with little testing of japanese and korean the Working Group of Asian Horticulture, Tropical Horticulture Working Group, and Pomology Working frequently resulted in blight-resistant trees such juicy pears (Nashi types). Since pear species Group. as ‘Magness’, which were difficult to crop. This and cultivars have been reported to vary greatly This work was supported by formula funding pro- lack of precocity and productivity of fire in susceptibility to fire blight, it was of interest to vided Maryland Agriculture Experiment Station, blight–tolerant european pears, coupled with know how these cultivars might perform in field competitive funding from MAES’ Competitive the limited cold-hardiness of size-controlling locations prone to severe fire blight outbreaks. Grants Program and the Harry R. Hughes Center for Quince rootstocks have been major reasons Vavilov (1951) noted that there were Agro-Ecology, Inc. why pear production has remained very low three distinct centers of origin for edible We thank the many agricultural technicians and in the eastern United States. Pyrus in Asia; a Near Eastern Center (P. students for their assistance in managing the trees used in this study and Kathleen W. Hunt for her help In an effort to improve pollination suc- communis), Central Asian Center (Pyrus organizing the taste testing at Clarksville and for cess, precocity, and productivity in ‘Mag- korshinsyki and ), and the preparing and editing the final manuscript. ness’ pear plantings, we began testing asian Chinese Center (P. pyrifolia and P. ussur- 1Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]. pear trees for their effectiveness as pollinizers iensis). Since the continental climate of the

HORTSCIENCE VOL. 51(11) NOVEMBER 2016 1325 Chinese Center more closely resembles that Trial 1: Field studies of precocity, A hailstorm in July 1994 triggered a se- of the Mid-Atlantic Region and Reimer productivity, and tree survival at WyeREC. vere fire-blight epidemic in both of these ranked that material more tolerant to fire To study tree precocity and productivity, nine plantings. Following the hail-induced fire blight, we also hypothesized that some asian pear cultivars (Atago, Hosui, Isi’iwase, blight epidemic, trees were evaluated on their pears from that region might be better Kosui, Olympic, Shinko, Shinsui, Ya Li, and growth and survival in early June 1996 using adapted to our local conditions than P. Yoinashi) and three european pear cultivars a simplified version of the USDA fire blight 5 communis. (Bartlett, Golden Russett, and Potomac) was to 1 rating system (Van der Zwet and Kiel, During the past 30 years, we have planted established at Wye REC. Design was a ran- 1979). and evaluated trees and fruit in five major domized complete block consisting of five field trials. Some of our research has been rows with individual tree replicates blocked 5 = Full canopy, healthy foliage published in nonrefereed journals (Hogmire down the row. Border rows of apple trees were 4 = Full canopy, some chlorotic foliage and Walsh, 1991; Walsh et al., 2011). set east and west of the planting. The orchard 3 = Significant canopy damage, more than Further disseminating the results of this was enclosed inside electrified fencing to half of the canopy remaining research would be valuable to producers in prevent deer damage. 2 = Significant canopy damage, less than the eastern United States, and perhaps other Asian pear trees were propagated onto full- half of the canopy remaining areas with similar growing conditions in- sized Pyrus betulaefolia rootstocks. Trees 1 = Dead tree terested in establishing sustainable orchards, were planted at a medium density, using a particularly for direct-market sales. Two of 4 · 6 m spacing and managed individually. Each tree was evaluated separately by our five long-term studies are described in Trees were hand planted in early Apr. 2010 three of the authors: Amy Barton Williams, this paper. into holes drilled with an auger, and then Christopher S. Walsh, and G.R. Welsh. Fol- trained and pruned to a central-leader system. lowing these individual evaluations, a mean MATERIALS AND METHODS No additional support was provided. score was computed for each tree. Mean Trees were fertilized and managed fol- values for each cultivar and planting were Orchard locations and research plantings. lowing local integrated pest management then analyzed statistically. Asian pear orchards were planted at the (IPM) recommendations (Pfeiffer et al., Fruit quality and consumer acceptance. University of Maryland’s WMREC in Kee- 2014). Fruitlets were removed during the In 2013 and 2014 fruit from the 2010 planting dysville and the WyeREC in Queenstown. second leaf to avoid stunting the trees, then at Wye REC were harvested, hand packed Both sites are located 100 km from Wash- hand thinned in early summer in the third and into tray-packed cartons, and held at 4 C ington, DC. Keedysville (lat. 3930# 35.85$ fourth leaf. Individual tree yields were col- until early October. Apple and asian pear N long. 7744# 0.14$ W) is located in the lected when fruit was tree-ripe spanning the fruit slices were presented to untrained con- Piedmont Region northwest of Washington, period from early August until the beginning sumers during an open house at the Univer- DC, while Queenstown (lat. 3854# 31.45$ of October (Table 1). Tree height, spread, and sity of Maryland Agricultural Experiment N long. 768# 54.65$ W) is located in the trunk-cross sectional area were recorded at Station in Clarksville. Consumers were asked Atlantic Coastal Plain east of the Chesa- the end of the fourth leaf. to rate the fruit objectively on a 1 (dislike peake Bay. Trial 2: Field evaluation of tree survival extremely) to 5 (like extremely) scale for Soils at both sites are level, uniform, deep, following hail-induced trauma blight at several characteristics. The traits evaluated and productive. The Keedysville soil series is Keedysville. In our studies of field tolerance were appearance, flesh texture, sweetness, Hagerstown Loam, while the soil at Wye is to fire blight, we used two established plant- and overall taste. Consumers were also classified as a Mattapex-Butlerstown Silt ings at Keedsyville WMREC, which were asked whether they were willing to buy this Loam. Keedysville is located close to a tradi- planted and managed similarly to the trees at product. tional fruit belt and is well suited to apple Wye. The first was a 1985 planting with asian Statistical analyses. Analysis of variance production. It has a continental climate and is pear trees set as single pollinizer trees in was conducted using the Mixed Procedure classified as U.S. Department of Agriculture a ‘Magness’ pear rootstock trial. The second (SAS, version 9.2; SAS Institute Inc., Cary, (USDA) hardiness zone 6b (–5 to 0 F, or was planted in 1989 as one of the Southeast- NC). Replication and (when appropriate) about –20.6 to –17.8 C). Queenstown has ern Zonal Trial plantings organized by Prof. block were considered random. Means were a water-moderated climate, which is well Caula Beyl of Alabama A&M University. calculated using the means statement. Mean suited to peach production and is classified This 1989 planting consisted of ten random- separations were carried out using the Tukey as USDA Hardiness Zone 7b (+5 to 10 F, or ized complete blocks, each with one tree of statement option when the effect of cultivar about –15 to –12.2 C). 15 asian pear cultivars. was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The

Table 1. Effect of cultivar on the harvest date, tree size, cumulative yield, cumulative yield efficiency, and tree survival of 12 pear cultivars after their fourth leaf (2013) at the Wye Research and Education Center in Queenstown, MD. Mean harvest Trunk cross sectional Yield efficiency Variable (date) Tree ht (m) Tree spread (m) area (cm2) Yield (kg) (kg/cm2) Tree survival (%) Asian pear cultivars Shinsui Aug. 10 3.8 1.6 ab 29.7 b 4.8 b 0.17 cd 100 Hosui Aug. 11 3.1 1.8 ab 29.1 b 9.1 b 0.45 bcd 60 Isi’iwase Aug. 12 3.4 1.2 b 37.8 ab 4.8 b 0.13 d 100 Kosui Aug. 17 3.7 1.6 ab 29.2 b 4.2 b 0.15 d 100 Atago Aug. 24 3.5 1.4 ab 23.5 b 17.3 ab 0.92 ab 60 Yoinashi Aug. 30 3.5 1.5 ab 27.2 b 7.8 b 0.34 cd 80 Shinko Sept. 11 3.4 2.0 ab 22.8 b 23.2 a 1.05 a 100 Olympic Oct. 1 3.6 1.7 ab 29.4 b 15.4 ab 0.53 bc 100 Ya Li Oct. 1 3.7 1.7 ab 32.1 ab 17.6 ab 0.5 bcd 40 European pear cultivars Bartlett Sept. 4 3.8 2.2 ab 43.6 ab 6.3 b 0.17 cd 40 Golden Russett Sept. 12 4.2 2.2 a 51.5 a 2.7 b 0.04 d 40 Potomac — 3.8 1.8 ab 22.8 b — — 100 P value 0.1649 0.0357 0.0067 0.0022 <0.0001 Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different using the Tukey mean separation method (P = 0.05). Each column represents a separate mean separation test.

1326 HORTSCIENCE VOL. 51(11) NOVEMBER 2016 above procedures were used to determine the (Walsh et al., 2011). In the organic orchard tasting, we measured soluble solids content effects of cultivar on fire blight susceptibility trial, fire blight eventually decimated the (Brix) and found ‘Niitaka’ to be more than 1 and the eating experience attributes. commercial apple cultivars Gala and Fuji Brix lower than the other four cultivars. budded onto dwarfing rootstocks but had far When this taste test was repeated in 2014, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION less effect on the asian pears than on the apple ‘Olympic’ was judged to be superior, again trees. Asian pear bloom occurs about 10 d due to its high soluble solids content. Field studies of tree growth, productivity, earlier than apple in this region. This may Other management issues. Like any crop, and survival at Wye REC. Field studies of allow some of these cultivars to avoid blos- asian pears do have their problems. In addi- nine asian pear cultivars and two European som blight infection, as they are in bloom tion to fire blight, pear psylla is another major cultivars conducted at Wye REC demon- before the infection period predicted by the pest that limits pear productivity and quality strated the early relative precocity and pro- MARYBLYT program (Steiner, 1989). in the Mid-Atlantic Region. In a preliminary ductivity of Asian cultivars in this region. Fruit quality and consumer acceptance. study of pear psylla susceptibility, Hogmire Asian pear trees began flowering heavily in The consumer acceptance surveys in 2013 and Walsh (1991) reported that the number of the second leaf, whereas few flowers were and 2014 using Wye REC fruit demonstrated psylla-days varied among pear cultivars. observed on the european pears. Production that consumers familiar with asian pears were Although the clear-skinned cultivars, 20th data summarizing tree size, yield, and pro- immediately drawn to these tastings and Century, Shinseiki, and Seigyoku, were quite ductivity after the fourth leaf (2013 grow- provided very positive feedback. Consumers susceptible to psylla damage, Chojuro, Nii- ing season) are shown in Table 1. These less familiar with asian pears reported some taka, Tsu-Li, and Magness were less suscep- results are typical for asian pears planted in awareness but had neither tasted, nor pur- tible to this pest. Trees are susceptible to deer Maryland. chased the fruit previously. After tasting, browsing when they are young, brown mar- Damage from blossom blight began in the most people reported they would be inter- morated stink bug feeding damage, and bird third leaf (2012) and continued to cause tree ested in purchasing asian pears and requested predation before harvest. losses in 2013. As expected, more than half of the names of local producers (Table 3). Small-fruited cultivars with clear skins, the ‘Bartlett’ and ‘Golden Russet’ pear trees Of the five asian pear cultivars tested, four such as ‘Seigyoku’, ‘Shinseiki’, and ‘20th in this planting were lost to fire blight. Some were judged similarly by consumers for their Century’, have been difficult to manage in asian pear trees, notably ‘Atago’ and ‘Ya Li’, appearance, flavor, texture, and overall fla- our trials (data not shown). Their small fruit were also lost to fire blight, whereas trees of vor, whereas ‘Niitaka’ was judged signifi- size required severe hand thinning. In addi- many other asian pear cultivars survived. cantly different. Although more than 80% of tion, the thin fruit skin on these cultivars is Field evaluation of tree survival following these potential consumers reported a willing- susceptible to stem punctures and postharvest hail-induced trauma blight at Keedysville. ness to purchase ‘Yoinashi’, ‘Olympic’, marking. The relative field tolerance of 18 asian pear ‘Shinko’, and ‘Atago’ in 2013, only 46% of The range of problems encountered when cultivars following trauma blight induced by these potential consumers were inclined to managing and handling small fruited, clear- a hail storm in 1994 is shown in Table 2. purchase ‘Niitaka’ (Table 3). During the skinned asian pear cultivars thus makes it When cultivars appeared in both trials, their results appeared similar. Although no asian pear cultivar was immune to fire blight, there Table 2. Field tolerance to fire blight of pear cultivars following a summer hailstorm in 1994 at was a great range of tolerance among culti- Keedysville, MD. Trees were evaluated in 1996. A score of 1 indicates a dead tree and a score of 5 vars in this field evaluation. When cultivars indicates a healthy tree. appeared in both the ‘Magness’ pollinizer Fire blight rating trial and the Southeastern Zonal Trial, results Cultivar Magness pollinator planting SE Zonal Trial were similar. Since these plantings were set Shinsui — 4.6 a in close proximity, ‘Magness’ pear served as Shin Li — 4.5 ab a valuable benchmark for rating the perfor- Daisu Li — 4.4 ab mance of all the cultivars evaluated in this Olympic — 4.0 abc trial. Magness 4.0 a — In the ‘Magness’ pollinizer trial, ‘Mag- Niitaka 3.4 ab 3.4 abcd ness’ showed the greatest tolerance to fire Shinseiki (New Century) 2.5 abc 3.2 abcd blight, whereas ‘Ts’e Li’ appeared to be the Okusanichi 3.2 ab — most susceptible. In the Southeastern Zonal Shinko — 3.1 abcd Trial, ‘Shinsui’ showed the greatest field Shinsei — 3.1 bcd Chojuro — 2.9 bcde tolerance to blight, whereas ‘Ya Li’ was the 20th Century (Nijisseiki) 3.0 abc 2.8 bcde most susceptible. Hosui — 2.7 bcde Although not detailed in this paper, an Choju — 2.3 de earlier effort to reduce tree losses from fire Seigyoku 2.2 bc — blight involved testing P. calleryana ‘Brad- Kosui — 2.2 de ford’ and ‘Old Home’ · ‘Farmingdale’ (OH · Ya Li — 1.6 e F) rootstocks at Wye REC (data not shown). Ts’e Li (Tsu Li) 1.6 c — ‘Bradford’ was more precocious than P. betulaefolia, and thus required more hand thinning. OH · F stocks were also associated Table 3. Average eating experience variables as judged by untrained consumers at the Clarksville Open House in Oct. 2013. with reduced fruit size, perhaps due to a slight reduction in tree vigor. People who would purchase Based on the cumulative results of all Cultivar Appearance Flesh texture Sweetness Overall taste the fruit trials, P. betulaefolia continues to be the Yoinashi 4.1 a 4.2 a 4.1 a 4.3 a 90.9% a recommended asian pear rootstock for the Olympic 4.2 a 4.1 a 4.3 a 4.5 a 87.5% a Shinko 4.2 a 4.2 a 4.2 a 4.3 ab 86.8% a Mid-Atlantic Region. Atago 4.0 a 4.1 a 4.0 a 4.0 b 81.4% a Other production characteristics. In an Niitaka 3.6 b 3.5 b 3.1 b 3.3 c 45.9% b organic orchard trial at Wye REC ‘Olympic’ P value 0.0011 0.0003 <0.0001 <0.0001 <0.0001 and ‘Niitaka’ asian pears were found to be Mean SE 0.12 0.13 0.12 0.12 0.06 equally as productive under an organic man- Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different using the Tukey mean separation method agement program as they were under an IPM (P = 0.05). Each column represents a separate mean separation test.

HORTSCIENCE VOL. 51(11) NOVEMBER 2016 1327 difficult to produce and market high-quality fruit. Consequently russet-skinned cultivars, such as ‘Olympic’, are better suited to the conditions encountered in the Mid-Atlantic Region. ‘Olympic’ has done particularly well in our trials in Maryland due to its precocity, productivity, fire blight tolerance, and fruit quality.

CONCLUSION In nearly 30 years of research (1985– 2014), we have identified asian pear cultivars with adequate precocity, productivity, fruit quality, and tree survival required for sustain- able production in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States. Although asian pear trees grow vigorously following planting, they are quite precocious. Despite being propagated on a full-sized rootstock, it was not unusual to see significant flowering on trees in the second leaf, followed afterward by full production. This precocity followed by sustained, annual production, resulted in Fig. 1. ‘Olympic’ asian pear tree on Betulaefolia rootstock in sixth leaf (left) and mature fruit (right). smaller tree size than would be expected from Precocity and sustained annual production have kept tree size manageable, despite lack of size control trees on a vigorous rootstock (Fig. 1). in the rootstock. Field tolerance to fire blight is complex and frequently varies with year and location. It is primarily determined by cultivar suscep- Bae’ or ‘A Ri Rang’) released in Korea in Oitto, W.A., T. van der Zwet, and H.J. Brooks. 1970. Rating of pear cultivars for resistance to tibility and rootstock selection, which im- 1969, is the most promising cultivar, and it is the first cultivar recommended to Mid- fire blight. HortScience 5:474–476. parts vigor characteristics. Management O’Rourke, D. 2012. World pear review: The de- programs and environmental conditions— Atlantic producers. ‘Olympic’ also has prob- lems, including internal breakdown in the finitive guide to the global pear industry. primarily temperature and humidity—are Belrose, Inc., Pullman, WA. also important. In our trials, it was reassuring flesh. As a crop that is harvested tree-ripe, Pfeiffer,D.G.,J.C.Bergh,R.D.Fell,C.R.R. that tree survival and loss data following an growers wait until optimum ripeness on the Hooks, G.M. Peck, C.S. Walsh, K.S. Yoder, outbreak of blossom blight at Wye REC tree before harvest. In 2014, summer weather A.R. Biggs, J.B. Kotcon, J.F. Derr, R.S. (Table 1), corroborated the ratings of trauma conditions led to early and rapid fruit matu- Chandran, M.J. Weaver, A. Brown, and J. blight measured following a severe hail storm ration and internal breakdown in ‘Olympic’ Parkhurst. 2014. 2014 Spray Bulletin for at Keedysville WREC (Table 2). Similar fruits. To avoid this, growers have been Commercial Tree Fruit Growers. Va. Coop. differences in field tolerance to fire blight cautioned to harvest ‘Olympic’ asian pears Ext. Serv. Publ. 456–419. A regional manual earlier. Since the original release of Olym- for VA, WV, and MD. among these cultivars have also been seen in Reimer, F.C. 1915. Blight resistance in pears and commercial plantings in the region. pic, breeding programs in Japan, Korea, and New Zealand have produced many pear stocks. California State Hort Commun. Addressing potential for commercial Monday Bul. 4:145–149. adoption. Although asian pear research has additional hybrids which should be inves- Steiner, P.W. 1989. Predicting apple blossom been promising, plantings of this crop in the tigated in the future (White and Brewer, infections by Erwinia amylovora using the Mid-Atlantic region have been limited. We 2002a, 2002b). MARYBLYT model. Acta Hort. 273:139–148. attribute this to 1) commercial growers are In conclusion, while asian pears may not Van der Zwet, T. and H. Kiel. 1979. Fire blight unfamiliar with the asian pears and thus yet be suited to wholesale production and a bacterial disease of roseaceous plants. U.S. reluctant to plant them and 2) when growers marketing in the eastern United States, they Department of Agriculture Handbook 510. Van der Zwet, T. and W.A. Oitto. 1972. Further planted asian pears, they frequently chose have demonstrated good potential as an evaluation of the reaction of ‘resistant’ pear poorly adapted cultivars. We responded to alternate crop for direct-market producers involved in the sale of tree-ripe fruit. cultivars to fire blight. HortScience 7:395–397. these challenges by organizing a set of Vavilov, N.I. 1951. The origin, variation, immunity replicated planting sets in 10 research loca- Literature Cited and breeding of cultivated plants. Trans. from tions. The planting at Wye REC detailed the Russian by K. Starr Chester. Chronica above was repeated at nine additional eastern Hedrick, U.P. 1921. Pears of New York. Report of Botanica, New York, NY. U.S. locations from Alabama to Massachu- the New York Agricultural Experiment Station, Walsh, C.S., A.R. Ottesen, M.J. Newell, J.C. setts in 2010. Cooperators in that project Volume 2–Part II. J.B. Lyon Company, Hanson, and E.H. Leone. 2011. The effect of completed their data collection in 2015 and Albany, New York. organic and conventional management pro- are currently summarizing their research Hogmire, H.W. and C.S. Walsh. 1991. Arthropod grams on apple and Asian pear tree growth, findings (data not shown). pest incidence on sprayed Asian pear cul- productivity, expenses and revenues in a hot, tivars, Proc. West Virginia Horticultural humid climate. Acta Hort. 903:665–672. Asian pears should be well suited to Society. White, A.G. and L.R. Brewer. 2002a. Pear breed- growers interested in planting this crop in Miller, A.N. and C.S. Walsh. 1984. The effects of ing in New Zealand. Acta Hort. 587:175–178. Mid-Atlantic orchards. Due to its field toler- daminozide, bark scoring, and delayed heading White, A.G. and L.R. Brewer. 2002b. The New ance to fire blight, large fruit size, and good on the fruiting of magness pears on Quince-A Zealand pear breeding project. Acta Hort. consumer acceptance, Olympic (syn. ‘Dan rootstock. HortScience 19:531. 596:239–242.

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